T.S. Eliot, A Picture Of Dorian + Gattaca

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Comparative Essay ‘It is clear from the text studied that for individuals to function successfully they need close mutual relationships.’ Discuss how this is represented in your prescribed text and two related texts. A large part of our lives is influenced by the people around us and by the society that we live in. The way in which we function as individuals relies heavily upon these relationships. Without them, we cannot perform successfully as balanced human beings. T.S. Eliot shows this concept in his poems ‘Rhapsody on a Windy Night’ and ‘The Love Song of J Alfred Prufrock’, in which he uses personification and imagery among other techniques in order to portray how the persona’s lack of relations with others has lead to his social isolation. Oscar Wilde explores a similar concept in an entirely different way in ‘The Picture of Dorian Grey’. In this text, the lack of a positive influence in Dorian’s life leads to his moral corruption and in the end, his own demise. Our need for close mutual relationships is also portrayed in the film ‘Gattaca’, in which the main character relies heavily upon his friends for support. Although these text differ immensely, they all portray a common theme, and that is that relationships with other individuals is important in shaping the persons moral integrity. In Eliot’s ‘Rhapsody on a Windy Night’, this concept of requiring close relationships is perfectly represented by the persona of the text. To the reader, it becomes apparent that he (for it is assumed the persona is male) uses his memories as an escape from reality. Eliot’s use of imagery to portray this concept, as seen when he writes ‘The memory [was] thrown up high and dry’ reveals the way in which the persona’s memories appear in chaos of tumbling thoughts, disordered and uncontrollable. As the night progresses throughout the poem, he becomes more and more caught
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